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Members from both sides of the aisle have introduced an act that aims to improve the level of cyber skills and knowledge in rural American hospitals.
The Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act was introduced by Democrat Senator Gary Peters and Republican Senator Josh Hawley.
The bill calls upon the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to develop a “comprehensive rural hospital cyber security workforce development strategy” to address many rural hospitals’ need for more cyber security specialists on staff.
The strategy will see rural hospitals partner with private sector firms, educational institutions, and not-for-profit organisations to create and expand training that addresses the specific needs of rural locations, and build a cyber security curriculum and other resources for use in community colleges and other local institutions.
The bill will also look at what further legislation might be needed to help address the shortage.
The timeline the bill calls for will see the above strategies presented to Congress CISA’s director. The strategy will also be subject to yearly reviews that look into the effectiveness of the program and what other changes may need to be made to keep the program going.
“Congress must take action to shore up the ability of small-town hospitals to defend themselves from cyber attacks,” said Senator Hawley in an announcement. “By working to improve cyber security preparedness and develop a robust cyber security workforce in rural hospitals, we can help protect the sensitive medical and personal data of American patients and defend our national security.”
“Ransomware attacks against hospitals and healthcare systems that compromise sensitive medical information and disrupt patient care must be stopped. Unfortunately, small and rural hospitals often lack the resources to invest in cyber security defences and staff to prevent these breaches,” said Senator Peters in the same announcement.
“This bipartisan legislation will require the federal government to ensure our most vulnerable healthcare providers have the necessary tools to protect patient information and provide lifesaving care even as criminal hackers continue to target their networks.”
The legislation comes on the heels of a presentation during a meeting of the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, which revealed the often complete lack of any skilled cyber security professionals in rural hospitals.
Hospitals and other healthcare organisations are seen as prime targets by many threat actors, thanks to their critical importance and the often large data sets — of both patients and employees — they hold.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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